B&M bargain store attack which broke teen's jaw 'filmed and shared around his school'

A teenager who attacked a schoolboy outside B&M in Preston has been told he must live outside the city. The 14-year-old, who can not be named for legal reasons, suffered a broken jaw and the added humiliation of a video of the attack circulating around school.

Cameron Higham, 18, admitted the attack and appeared at Preston Crown Court to be sentenced. An older man, Callum Dixon, was jailed at an earlier court hearing for his role. Olivia Brooksbank-Laing, prosecuting, told the court the teenager had gone to the bargain shop with his girlfriend on January 17, 2023. Higham and Dixon had been refused entry and were waiting outside.

As the youngsters left the shop they were approached by a group of six. Higham asked the boy why he was "slagging off" a girl they both knew. The boy said he hadn't been talking about her but Higham punched him to the side of his face. Dixon followed up with two further blows. The boy's eye area began to redden immediately and his face began to swell and bruise.

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A security guard intervened and the group ran away. A member of the public stepped in and took the victim and his girlfriend home in their car, the court heard. The following day, the boy went to school but was told to go to hospital after teachers saw the injuries to his face. He went to Royal Preston Hospital where an x-ray confirmed he had a fracture to the left side of his jaw. He was told to use painkillers regularly and avoid contact sports or blowing his nose for two weeks.

Higham, of no fixed address, was arrested on February 6 and told officers: "I know what you're on about but it wasn't me." Both he and Dixon later admitted GBH. In a police statement, the youngster said the incident had been recorded on a mobile phone and the video had circulated round school, prompting people to ask embarrassing questions.

Claire Larton, defending, said Higham had been through a difficult and unstable childhood but had found stability with his girlfriend's family who live in Accrington. He was working with a probation officer and had been offered accommodation with his girlfriend's sister. Higham, who has a diagnosis of autism, was described as "immature and vulnerable" in reports but Ms Larton said: "He has somewhere to go. He is clearly a very vulnerable young man."

She said a move out of Preston would distance him from negative influences in his life. Judge Richard Archer, sentencing, said: "You take genuine responsibility for what you did. I am prepared to accept that though this was a serious offence in which a young boy received a fracture to the jaw, you haven’t committed any offences since.”

He said he must bear in mind that Higham was 17 at the time of the attack and had he been charged earlier he would have received a youth referral order, providing structure and discipline. The judge handed down a two-year community order with up to 30 days of rehabilitation activity requirements and 60 hours of unpaid work.

He also made a condition of residence that Higham must live with his girlfriend’s sister, or at an address agreed with the Probation Service. Dickson, 21, of Steeple View, Ashton, was sentenced to 22 months at a previous court hearing.